Alibaba.com Hosts Online Seller Summit in Pakistan to help SMEs

ISLAMABAD ( WEB DESK )

Alibaba.com,  the global B2B e-commerce  platform  of Alibaba Group, held another online summit aimed at helping Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan leverage e-Commerce to secure global export opportunities today. With the trade value of exports from Pakistan reaching a 5-year high at PKR 339 billion in October 2020, the Summit is aimed at helping more SMEs ride on this momentum and connect with global buyers effectively.

The “Go Digital, Go Export” Seller Online Summit brought together e-Commerce experts, global business  advisors  and  successful  Pakistan  suppliers  to  share  tips  on  digitalizing  and  globalizing business. The summit is aimed at  supercharging  the  success of local SMEs  when pursuing  cross- border trade by introducing high quality leads, nurturing hot prospects and changing mindsets on e- Commerce and exports through discussions on global trends, buyer profiles and behaviors, popular product categories and case studies of top performing Pakistani exporters.

The summit kicked off with an overview of the global trade landscape, opportunities and challenges in Pakistan and insights on future export and economic growth by Mr. Stephen Kuo, Head of Asia Pacific, Alibaba.com.

“Pakistan is one of our key markets. Buyers are also moving online to find suppliers, as demonstrated by the doubling of active buyers we have seen on our platform along with a 42% increase in the number of daily inquiries made. We believe there is a great opportunity for Pakistani SMEs to explore new trade possibilities and export their products and services globally,” said Kuo.

Eric Cross, Head of Buyer Marketing for the United States and Europe, Alibaba.com delved deeper into the global buyer spread, purchasing behaviours and motivations of different buyer profiles from micro- buyers to wholesalers and the preferences for and perceptions of Pakistani products. Eric also touched on the high tempo and quality of interactions with buyers on the Alibaba.com platform with more than

340,000 inquiries made daily, and how buyers are looking for a partner not just a seller which means

SMEs need to be upfront about strengths and weaknesses and be a trusted supporter of the buyer.

Vera Xia, Seller Service Program Manager, Alibaba.com, continued with insights on securing relevant traffic from vast global network of over 20 million buyers and converting them into serious inquiries, plus a detailed two-year training and curriculum plan   by Alibaba.com to help new cross-border sellers to level up their cross-border e-Commerce trading skills.

Jeremy Wang, Business Manager, Alibaba.com Pakistan followed up with the special support packages made available for Pakistani businesses when using Alibaba.com to secure export opportunities, and the one-to-one consultations available right after the webinar for local SMEs.

The summit also featured a special session with local success story ImpexPakistan, a manufacturer and exporter of Himalayan salt, onyx marble and semi-precious gemstones, which has leveraged the Alibaba.com platform to boost their business globally.

“It  has  always  been  my  intention  to  explore  the  global  market  via  the  internet  since  I  started  my business,  because  the  competition  in  the  local  market  is  huge.  Taking  advantage  of  global  online marketplaces  like  Alibaba.com  is  important  to  any  company  who  wants  to  expand  their  business globally. On top of providing easy access to its massive global buyer network, Alibaba.com enabled me to start exporting globally online from scratch, and the hands-on trainings provided is definitely a game- changer for any business,” said Mr. Haider Ali, Founder, ImpexPakistan.